Lisa Fisher is consulting director and organizational development lead at a Washington, DC-based technology and management consulting company.

• ContentsIntroduction: A Creative Approach to the Employee Engagement DilemmaChapter 1: The Prevailing Logic About Employee Engagement: What Three Decades of Research and the COVID Era Tell Us About Employe Engagement and Remote EngagementChapter 2: Foundational Cultural Assumptions that Undermine Employee Engagement and Applied Research Solutions and DirectionsChapter 3: Earnestly Valuing PeopleConclusion and Looking AheadAppendix: Discussion Guide for Undergraduate Courses (Theory and Practice)ReferencesAbout the Author

Employee engagement describes the level of enthusiasm and dedication an employee feels toward a job and organizational goals. Fisher challenges the notion that companies can increase employee engagement by initiating employee recognition programs, naming an engagement leader, organizing brief employee socials, and showing employee engagement survey results through mandatory meetings with impressive lights, figures, and charts. Companies need to build trust and earnestly care about people. Forcing or faking care does not work well. Fisher advocates for more research into the relationships between employee emotional intelligence, volunteerism, meaningfulness, and psychological safety on employee engagement. She also discusses how technology, virtual work, organizational politics, and stress affect employee engagement. The book has extensive academic references. An appendix provides a discussion guide with employee engagement questions for undergraduate courses. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.